Hello dear readers!
My sincere apologies, I have been remiss in writing of late. I have some good reasons why, but hey, I’m here now!
I know I owe you my scale blog, and I’ll be posting that soon, I promise!
But, as I have some things to get off my chest about recent experiences, I am going to proceed with my hair blog entry. This is a serious topic, people!
A little context:
Yes, I’m vain. I have a firm belief that most people are, to some degree. My hair is incredibly important to me – I treat it with the utmost respect most of the time these days. I will share why: I have a cleft lip and palate, which, I’m incredibly lucky to have had corrected for the most part, but there’s still war wounds left behind from my 18 recontructive surgeries. So, my hair allows me to feel pretty, (rarely beautiful even), and is the one part of my beauty that makes me feel normal.
So, I’m willing to spend a great deal of money on top-notch professionals to ensure my long locks are treated well. And, typically, my hair isn’t disrepected by those professionals.
Until recently.
Early June, I, on a whim for my birthday, decided to treat myself to a much-needed color treatment and cut at a local salon, Fresh & Co – I asked for and got the most senior of stylists at that salon (name redacted) – she was running late for my 2:30pm appt, but I was fine for that. At 2:45, we were on our way, after a consultation, where she assured me that a color tone (multiple colors, which included a shadow root – something I have never done before) would be all I needed for my already very long, very blonde locks.
She started the “shadow root” (more on those quotes later) at just before 3pm, and finished at 3:45pm – when washed out, they were completely orange. My panic was starting to set in, but I held it in, thinking, hey, this isn’t the completed product. Just hold on.
At 4pm, she started the alternating toners, which after asking I found out were mixed with 30 developer. Now, PANIC IS SETTING IN. When I first entered the salon, one of the reasons I picked that one was that they used Smartbond, which, like Olaplex, protects the bonds of the hair during color treatments. This stylist ASSURED me that color addition would IMPROVE my hair quality, and I definitely didn’t need to pay for Smartbond – “totally un-necessary” she said.
At 5pm, she finally washed out the two toners (that’s over an hour with 30 developer in my hair!) and proceeded to shampoo and condition my hair.
At that point, alarm bells were going off. My hair was feeling really clumpy, and she was having a tough time combing out my hair. She cut my hair as per my original request (parted in the middle… F>>> That’s always been a warning sign… I WEAR MY HAIR PARTED TO THE SIDE – why would you cut it in the middle???) My “shadow root” was still orange, and included all of my bangs, and I barely saw any color difference from my ashy-grey blonde that I walked in with.
After much product, my hair was styled, and I went on my not-so-merry way – to my birthday dinner with girlfriends.
A week later I finally washed my hair, and then the damage really came to light.
My hair was coming out in HANDFULS. Literally. I was FREAKING OUT. And, I was on vacation, so there wasn’t much I could do to mitigate this.
Flash forward 3 weeks, and my hair is still coming out that way. I only wash my hair once a week, so as to not damage it more (I have done this for years, and always been really happy with the quality of my hair, until now).
The breakage is severe. So, after much research, I purchased ApHogee Two-Step Protein Treatment, which I’ve just done. – When they say your hair is going to get HARD, they mean it!!!! And BTZ (Beyond the Zone) Last Call conditioner…
I’m currently doing an Avocado Mayonnaise treatment between the two (using actual avocado mayo from Costco, apple cider vinegar, and olive oil), which doesn’t seem to be restoring any moisture to my protein-enriched hair from the ApHogee treatment. But, hey, my hair does smell like a sandwich, so there’s that???
Next up, the BTZ Last Call. I’m REALLY hoping it’s going to add the moisture I need to at least somewhat restore my brittle hair and shine.
Keep your finger’s crossed, people.
UPDATE: Okay, perhaps there’s progress! The jury’s still out on the Mayonnaise concoction, other than making me very attractive to wild animals, but the first signs of the BTZ Last Call Hair Masque look extremely positive (I’m sure the protein from the ApHogee helped!) – I could actually comb out my hair for the first time in over 3 weeks! Yes, there’s still hair coming out, but it’s about half that of my first through third wash! So, I’m finally hopeful I won’t need to do something drastic like cut off the majority of my hair.
